A Love to Die For
by chibitenshi2
Summary: What happens when Hogwarts puts on a play starring Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy? This is a work in progress and I would love to know what you think! I won't continue it unless I get feedback!
1. Changes

All the characters and locations in this fanfic belong to J.K. Rowling,  
  
except for a few minor characters that I have added to spruce it up!  
  
A Love to Die For  
  
Chapter 1  
  
I was sitting in my fourth year Transfiguration class. Behind me, Colin  
  
Creevy was tugging on a lock of my Weasly-red hair. I tried to swat his  
  
hand away but he wouldn  
  
t stop. Class was almost over and everyone was growing restless. For some  
  
reason Professor McGonagall  
  
s lesson was especially dull today. I was having a hard enough time  
  
concentrating without Colin helping. Of course, Professor McGonagall, with  
  
her hawk-like senses, picked up on my lack of intrigue for the concept she  
  
was discussing.  
  
Miss Weasley, could you please repeat for the rest of the class what I was  
  
just explaining?  
  
  
  
she asked, staring directly at me with an angry glint in her eye. She knew  
  
that I would not know the answer. I never could understand why she always  
  
seemed to enjoy taking points from her house so much.  
  
Well  
  
...   
  
umm  
  
...   
  
I began,   
  
I didn  
  
t exactly hear you, Colin was  
  
...   
  
I trailed off as she approached my desk.  
  
I am very disappointed in you indeed Ginny. I  
  
ll have to take five points from Gryffindor for this, you know. Back to  
  
what I was saying about the exam you will all be performing for me tomorrow  
  
...  
  
I heaved a sigh of relief the minute she was out of hearing distance and  
  
pulled my hair back out of the reach of Colin. I knew I should be paying  
  
attention since she was talking about a test and her tests were always  
  
hard, but I knew that I would do well. We were only two weeks into the year  
  
and were still reviewing third year transfigurations. They were so simple.  
  
I couldn  
  
t understand why Lilly, the Hufflepuff next to me was chewing on her eraser  
  
and looking as if she were about to die of confusion. Just as I started  
  
sketching a face on my scroll, Professor McGonagall dismissed us.  
  
I gathered up my things and slipped out the door. The minute I entered the  
  
crowded hall, I saw Harry Potter, accompanied, as usual, by my brother and  
  
Hermione. I wove my way through the crowd and squeezed in just far enough  
  
behind Harry to hear what he was talking about. He had a Quidditch match  
  
tonight and he and Ron were trying to think of ways to   
  
accidentally  
  
  
  
injure Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Seeker. He had been getting especially  
  
vicious lately: trying to knock Harry off his broom, picking fights with my  
  
brother right outside Snape  
  
s dungeon knowing that he would catch Ron fighting and take points from  
  
Gryffindor. If there were one person in the entire school that I truly and  
  
honestly hated, it would have to be Draco Malfoy. He was just so cruel to  
  
everyone he met, and for no apparent reason. Even his so-called friends  
  
were subject to his teasing and mocking.  
  
You could spill something on him today in potions!  
  
  
  
cried Ron triumphantly. He glanced from Harry  
  
s doubtful look to Hermoine  
  
s downright disapproving one and I couldn  
  
t help but giggle.  
  
Ron, you know that Snape would notice. Plus, there is no reason for Harry  
  
to try to injure Malfoy to keep him out of the match tonight. I  
  
m sure Harry will beat him perfectly fairly,  
  
  
  
Hermione lectured. Harry sighed and grimaced as Ron and Hermoine began to  
  
bicker.  
  
Abruptly, Harry, Hermione and Ron turned out of the hallway and into their  
  
next class without even noticing that I had been walking directly behind  
  
them. I continued along the hall staring at my feet and sinking deeper and  
  
deeper into my own thoughts. I was simply tired of being so invisible. I  
  
was tired of living in the shadows no matter what I did. I wanted someone  
  
to recognize something good that I had done entirely on my own and be proud  
  
of me. I was the youngest in a family of 7 and although I was the only  
  
girl, anything I did was never important because one of my brothers had  
  
done it before. I had loved one boy since I was 11 and he barely even knew  
  
I existed. To all of my peers, I was just cute little Ginny Weasly, poor,  
  
and yet always happy. I was someone to be pitied. I was someone who didn  
  
t want the attention of other people. I was too shy and independent to want  
  
attention. I did not want to be famous or even well known. I just wanted  
  
someone to notice me and think:   
  
She seems like a wonderful person. I want to be her friend.  
  
I glanced briefly up from my feet to see a tall sixth year boy, whom I  
  
slammed directly into, causing all my books, papers and wand to fly from my  
  
arms and spread all over the floor. I bent over to pick up my potions book  
  
at the exact moment that the boy did and my forehead smacked into the back  
  
of his head. I jumped back and began to apologize the same time that he  
  
did. We both began to laugh at ourselves as we gathered up my things.  
  
I am so sorry!  
  
  
  
I said trying not to laugh.   
  
I really should have been paying more attention to where I was going. I  
  
guess I just-  
  
No, it  
  
s really all right. It was my fault too. I should have been watching out  
  
for beautiful girls. This is the least I can do,  
  
  
  
he said, also clearly on the brink of laughter. He handed me a stack of  
  
papers and books then paused to look at me. He was really quite attractive.  
  
He had soft looking, wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes that sparkled so  
  
you felt he was about to laugh. Suddenly he held his hand out to me and  
  
said,   
  
I  
  
m Cliff.  
  
  
  
I shook his hand and then, realizing we were going to be late for class, I  
  
jumped.  
  
As I dashed down the hall towards the greenhouse, I felt a pair of eyes  
  
watching me.  
  
* * *  
  
I was sitting in my favorite class and I couldn  
  
t enjoy it. I wanted to break my wand over Harry Potter  
  
s ugly famous head. He and that stupid Weasley git wouldn  
  
t shut up about how Harry  
  
s godfather, Sirius Black had been cleared of all charges and was going to  
  
adopt Harry as soon as he could. This meant that Harry would no longer have  
  
to go live with those muggles that were his only family, meaning Potter  
  
would be happier which would inversely make me more miserable.  
  
I didn  
  
t actually care at all about anything that happened to Potter, unless he  
  
suddenly became a lightning-scarred beetle that I could step on. The only  
  
reason I knew any of this at all was Snape had decided that, as punishment  
  
for Potter, the two of us were to be forced to sit next to each other for  
  
the rest of the year. Ron and their poofy-haired friend, whatever- her-  
  
name-was, sat on the other side or Potter. They would always talk about the  
  
stupidest things whenever Snape wasn  
  
t paying attention.  
  
He told me he would send another owl today. It sounded like something  
  
important. I wonder what he wanted to tell me,  
  
  
  
Harry rambled. He had, of course, said this to Ron but I was just itching  
  
to insult one of them.  
  
Maybe he  
  
ll tell you that he finally found a vacancy in a cave nearby that the  
  
Weasley  
  
s can live in. Or, am I mistaken? Was it not the Weasley house that  
  
collapsed because it even magic couldn  
  
t keep that many rooms up on it?  
  
Ron  
  
s face turned a deep red that matched his hair perfectly and lunged at me,  
  
only to be pulled back and scolded by Hermione. Satisfied, I sat back in my  
  
seat and began thinking of a much more serious matter; how was I going to  
  
defeat Potter in our Quidditch match tonight? I had to beat him. There was  
  
no question about it. I didn  
  
t care if the team won the game; I just had to catch that Snitch before  
  
Potter got to it. Maybe, just maybe, if I found something I could beat him;  
  
it would make up for everything else that he had that I didn  
  
t. Sure, he had lost his parents, but they had loved him. My parents never  
  
had, and never would love me. Not that I cared.  
  
I couldn  
  
t help but laugh at myself for pitying my situation. No one cared if my  
  
parents loved me, why should it mater to me? Potter was staring at me. It  
  
took me a moment to realize that I must have laughed louder than I thought  
  
I had. I smirked at him treacherously and he looked away.  
  
I glanced down at the pile of ingredients sitting in between Potter  
  
s cauldron and mine. We were supposed to be adding fern spore to the opaque  
  
potion we were mixing but since Potter had resumed conversing with Weasley,  
  
I took the liberty of adding spider legs to Potter  
  
s cauldron. His potion immediately turned murky brown and began hissing. I  
  
quickly went back to mixing fern spores into my own cauldron just as Potter  
  
noticed something was wrong with his potion.  
  
Potter! What did you do to your potion?  
  
  
  
Snape snapped at Harry. I sat back and prepared for an enjoyable round of   
  
Potter Vs. Snape  
  
  
  
when Snape told the class to bottle up our potions and wash out our  
  
cauldrons.  
  
I  
  
ll see you after class,  
  
Potter,   
  
he hissed pointedly at Harry.  
  
Sighing, I poured my potion into a phial and gave my cauldron to Crabbe and  
  
left the dungeon for the dining hall. I wanted to eat quickly so I could  
  
change into my shorts and thin shirt I wore under my Quidditch robes alone.  
  
* * *  
  
I walked into the Slytherin Quidditch team changing room later than I  
  
should have been and was confused by what I saw. There was no broom waiting  
  
for me; no Quidditch robes left. I looked around and noticed someone who  
  
wasn  
  
t on the team wearing my robes and holding my broom. A third year girls  
  
that I had never seen before was talking to Chris Polemic, our team  
  
captain.  
  
I  
  
m sorry, Malfoy. What are you doing here? Did you not know that Marissa was  
  
taking your place this year?  
  
  
  
He said in a mocking tone. Everyone in the room burst into laughter. I  
  
stalked out and ran up to the school. I couldn  
  
t believe that he had done that. How could he? Hadn  
  
t my father threatened him to give me the position of Seeker again this  
  
year? I should not have been replaced by a second year girl. She was  
  
probably a Muggle too.  
  
When I got to the wolf statue that opened into the Slytherin common room, I  
  
found a poster stuck to its face. I tore it off and nearly shouted the  
  
password at the statue.  
  
* * *  
  
I walked into the Gryffindor common room and sat down in front of the  
  
roaring fire with my book. It was a muggle book called Jane Eyre that  
  
Hermione had given me. As I opened my book, something fell out of it. It  
  
was a small paper that said in large letters:  
  
1.1  
  
1.2 Musical Comedy Murders of 1940  
  
1.2.1 Auditions: Friday September 13  
  
7-10 p.m.  
  
meet in the theater  
  
I didn  
  
t even know that Hogwarts had a theater. Not that it surprised me; Hogwarts  
  
had many rooms that I had probably never seen. I had absolutely no idea  
  
where the flyer had come from. Maybe Hermione had left in the book. I very  
  
much doubted that though, considering that this was Hermione. Then I  
  
remembered, the sixth year boy I had run into in the hall, Cliff. He must  
  
have dropped it when I ran into him. Then it had found its way into my  
  
book. That had to be it.  
  
* * *  
  
I ran up the stairs to the Slytherin boys bedrooms and threw open the  
  
curtians I had put up around my bed. It wasn  
  
t that I was upset about being kicked off the team. I didn  
  
t care one bit about any of those people. In fact, I had yet to meet a  
  
single person in this school that I really liked. The reason I was so mad  
  
was, I had lost my only chance at defeating Potter. Sure, Snape liked me  
  
more, but that didn  
  
t matter. I wanted to beat Potter honestly and fairly. I wanted to know for  
  
myself that I was truly better than Potter. Quidditch had been my only  
  
chance at beating Potter without cheating.  
  
Suddenly I remembered the paper I had torn off the wolf statue outside the  
  
common room that was still crumpled in my fist. I was about to tear it when  
  
the idea of reading it struck me. I turned it over and read it. It was a  
  
flyer for play auditions. I had never heard of Hogwarts doing a play. It  
  
sounded rather interesting. Maybe I would go to it. I had nothing else to  
  
do now that I would no longer be playing Quidditch. Might as well. 


	2. The Theater

To any of you out there who are confused, I added some to the first chapter after the first time I

posted it. Just go back and read it. I'm sorry to those of you that were looking forward to

Shakespeare, but the only Shakespearian play that would have worked for what I want to do with

this fic was Romeo and Juliet. I just couldn't stand to be so cliche. I promise that the play I am

using is a wonderful one. If you want to see a good Draco-like character that ends up falling in

love, watch Cruel Intentions. Ryan Phillipe's character, Sebastian, is very Draco-esque. Thanks to

all that reviewed! I really appreciate it!

Musical comedy Murders of 1940 belongs to the playwright and the publisher, not me. I am not

trying to claim it in any way.

All the characters and locations in this fanfic belong to J.K. Rowling, except for a few minor

characters that I have added to spruce it up!

A Love to Die For

Chapter 2

I had been waiting all day long for this very moment. Walking into the theater, I suddenly

wondered why I had been so excited. The theater was huge and I felt so out of place. What was I

doing here? I sat down in a seat towards the back of the room and hoped that I would see Cliff.

The theater really was beautiful. It was obviously older than the rest of the building- how that was

possible, I do not know- and had a wonderfully romantic feel to it. I was very glad that I had

come here. I got the feeling that wonderful things had happened here. It was probably just me

though. I found myself really hoping that I would make it into the show, just so I would be able to

spend more time in this room.

I looked above me and noticed that there was a balcony. There was a gold railing with tiny

rosebuds carved into it. Leaning on it was none other than Draco Malfoy. I found myself angry

with him for even being here, in this building that Cliff was in somewhere. Then it hit me. What if

Cliff wasn't here? What if the paper had been Hermione's, and I was stuck here with no Cliff. I

looked back up to the balcony and noticed that Malfoy had vanished from the balcony. I searched

the room frantically for him and spotted him walking down the aisle towards me. Just as I began

to stand up to flee the room- why had I even thought about coming in here? - Cliff sat down next

to me.

I smiled and sighed in relief at the sight of him. He would keep Draco away. I really didn't feel in

the mood for more of Draco's 'if your family could afford' comments. They were so unoriginal.

"Don't like him either?" he asked, smiling at me. For a minute, I sat there confused at what he had

just said. Then, feeling stupid for not understanding, I smiled and replied.

"Oh, I know, isn't he awful? All he ever does is make fun of people. And he can't even come up

with anything new to use," I said, just loud enough for Draco to hear. I glanced in his direction to

see him glaring towards me. Pleased with myself, I turned back to Cliff. He was laughing at what

I had just said. He really was cute, much cuter than Malfoy.

"I never got your name when we ran into each other yesterday." he said tucking a lock of my hair

behind my ear. He was so sweet too!

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm Ginny Weasley."

"Weasley... where have I heard that name before?" he mumbled to himself. His eyebrows were

knit together deep in thought. I almost didn't want to help him because he looked so cute. Almost.

"Oh, I have six older brothers. One of them is a sixth year here. Ron Weasley," I said. His face lit

with realization.

"That would make sense. I have Defense Against the Dark Arts with him. He's friends with Harry

Potter, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah. They've been best friends since-" I cut of when a tall thin woman stood and began to

address the group. Everyone in the room quieted down to listen to her.

I had never seen her at Hogwarts before, but I knew that she had to be a Professor. She had that

same presence that every other Professor I had met to this day did. It made you feel like they

knew endless amounts of more information than you did.

"For those of you that do not know me already, I am Professor Wilson, but please call me by my

first name: Emma. I am the director of Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. I am having Kari pass

out a short summary of the script and each part and an audition sheet that I want each of you to

fill out. For he audition toady, we will do cold readings from the script. Tomorrow, a callback list

will be posted just outside the theater and at the same time in the evening, ten of you will come

back and do more cold readings for me. I will give you fifteen minutes to read over the summaries

and fill out your forms, then we will get started."

I read over the summary and discovered that the play sounded very funny. It was about a group of

people getting ready to produce a musical. They were staying at the house of Elsa Von

Grossenknueten, who was the show's angel (she was providing the money they needed to get

started.) The director, Ken De La Maize had gone insane and had been murdering dancers in the

last show he directed. Elsa's maid, Helsa, was a German cross-dressing Nazi who was

masquerading as his sister to murder people in the house. The lyricist, Bernice Roth was a drunk

and her librettist, Roger Hopewell, was an easily frightened gay man. Nikki Crandall was an F.B.I.

agent posing as a dancer to try and solve the case of the Stage Door Slasher and Michael Kelly

was a police officer hired by Elsa to do exactly the same job as Nikki. Then there was a cowardly

comic, Eddie McCuen, and an Irish tenor, Patrick O'Reilly, who wasn't really Irish, but a German

spy.

I began to fall in love with the show. I really hoped that I would be called back. But there were so

many other people here and I had never acted in anything before. I passed my audition form in

and waited impatiently for more directions.

I had seriously regretted coming into the room at first. It was an ancient building and everyone in

the room seemed to know everyone else. I was a complete outsider. Not like I wasn't usually. But

when I began to read the summary sheet and I discovered the part of Patrick O'Reilly, I found

myself suddenly excited. I would give anything to play a German spy. I had already passed my

audition form in and had been assigned to the first audition group.

I was sitting on a chair on stage in a line with eight other people. The director handed each of us a

copy of the script and told us that we were never under any circumstances allowed to have our

wands on stage. We each set our wand next to our chair and we were told to turn to a certain

page in the script. It was a scene between the cross-dresser and the spy. She chose me to read the

spyâ€™s part. I was reading over the scene when I saw who she had chosen to read the

maidâ€™s part. None other than a Weasley. I sneered at her and she groaned. I could tell neither

of us would be happy with the partnering. She gave us a moment to prepare. I cleared my throat

and took a stab at an Irish accent. I figured that it sounded pretty good and started at the

beginning of the scene.

"Thank you, thank you. Sure and we're after bein' stuck down on the road at the bottom of the

driveway, wouldn't you know," I said trying to sound as obnoxiously Irish as I could. I figured

that the German spy was smart and would play innocent very well.

"Ja, I hear the car," Weasley said sounding very German. I was very impressed. I hadn't expected

her to be so good.

"No, that's another car. We couldn't even get up the hill. I'm Patrick O'Reilly. I'm one of the

actors. I thought I'd be comin' up to see if I could borrow a shivel." We continued through the

scene and I discovered that acting was really very exhilarating. I was enjoying myself, and with a

Weasley. When we finished our scene, the director seemed pleased. I hoped that I would get the

chance to read that part again with another person. Surprisingly she only had one other person

read each part after us.

After I read Helsa with Malfoy, Emma had me read with him every time. I didn't understand it.

We hated each other. But I did have to admit, it was very exciting to act. I looked forward to

each time she changed parts because I would get the read again. When it was over and I left the

theater, Cliff came running up to me. I had been rather disappointed that I hadn't read with him,

since he had been in my group. He was a very good actor too. I wondered what it would be like

to act with him.

"You were amazing," he whispered to me. "You'll definitely be called back!" He smiled at me and

I saw something in his eyes, something that I couldn't recognize.

"Really? I've never acted before. I really didn't know what I was doing," I admitted. I couldn't

believe him. I mean, he was incredible. He was probably just say that to make me feel better.

"Hey, do you want to come with me?" he asked taking my hand.

"Sure," I whispered quietly.

He led me down hallway after hallway until we were at a small door that opened to stairs. We

both had to duck to get through it. Once we were through, I found that the stairwell roof was

very high. These stairs obviously led somewhere important since they were lit with torches on

both sides. I was about to ask Cliff where we were going when we stepped up to another door.

He opened it for me and I stepped through, finding myself on a thin walkway almost 20 feet from

the stage. I gasped and was suddenly very glad I was never afraid of heights. The view was beautiful.

I walked out far enough for Cliff to stand on the walkway too. He smiled at me and took my

hand, squeezing past me to lead me somewhere else. Once we reached a wider platform, he sat

down and signaled for me to sit too.

"This is where I come when I feel lonely. It always reminds me that even if I don't have any true

friends here, I'll always have this. I'll always have my love for acting," he whispered. I looked at

his face to see if I could tell what he was thinking when he leaned down towards me and kissed

me softly on the cheek. Then he whispered into my ear, "I don't think I'll need to come here as

often anymore."

He kissed me softly, this time on the lips, then stood and led me back out of the theater. He told

me that whenever I needed him, I could just come to this door and he would be there. It thought

it was sweet but I had a hard time believing him. I watched him as he walked away, smiling,

holding my hand to my cheek.

All of my classes had seemed endless. I wanted to see whether I had been called back or not. I

didn't even enjoy it when Neville spilled his potion all over the floor and half the classes' shoes

turned to squirrels. Now that I was done with the callbacks, I was even tenser than I had been all

of that day. I had to know who was O'Reilly. I had only read for two parts. O'Reilly and Kelly. I

did not want to be Kelly. I wanted to be O'Reilly. Then there was the part of Helsa. There had

only been two people reading for that, and it had been obvious who would get it. Ginny Weasley

would be Helsa.


	3. Callbacks

Musical comedy Murders of 1940 belongs to the playwright and the publisher, not me. I am not trying to claim it in any way.   
All the characters and locations in this fanfic belong to J.K. Rowling, except for a few minor characters that I have added to spruce it up!  
  
A Love to Die For  
Part 3  
  
First of all, I was confused by the fact that I was called back for the part of a cross dressing man. Thankfully, I didn't have time to make a huge fool of myself; Cliff explained to me that it would be much easier to have a girl do an impression of a guy for a short scene in the play rather than having a guy doing an impression of a girl the whole time, since Helsa is seen as a female for almost all of the play. It would make it a lot less obvious. So that made sense.  
  
Secondly, I was happy, because Cliff was called back just as I was. Lastly, thought, I was terrified at the thought of having to work with Malfoy, for he was also called back. I was also confused as to how I should feel after callbacks. Should I be happy that I was called? Should I be nervous that I'd be cut? Should I be excited that Cliff had been called? Should I be furious that I might have to work with Malfoy? Or, should I be sad that I hadn't been called for the part I had originally wanted- Bernice?  
  
That was why I had gone to the doorway that Cliff had told me he would be at if I ever needed him. As I rounded the corner I saw an empty hallway. But I did notice that the door was slightly ajar. Thinking maybe he was waiting for me inside, I slid the door open a bit more and began to climb the stairs.  
  
When I finally reached the top, I began to walk out onto the thin walkway. I nearly fell off when I saw whose pale legs were dangling over the edge of it; when I saw who was sitting in the place that Cliff had taken me  
yesterday.  
  
"So, are you going to congratulate me on a flawless audition, or are you coming to mock my wonderful Irish accent like all those other bloody fruits?"  
  
When Draco actually addressed me- partially proving that he really was there which was frightening in itself- I really did fall off. Or at least I started to. But just as I began to lose my balance and topple over the side of the catwalk, Draco reached out and caught me. Then, just as quickly, he let go of me, looked away and began to dust himself off.  
  
"You never saw me here," he commanded as he left.  
  
I didn't know what to think, or do. I just stood there, staring after Draco for a long while. Long after he had left. Why had he caught me? It wasn't like I would have died. I probably would have only broken something that  
could have been fixed in a moment by Madam Pomfrey. But for some reason I couldn't comprehend, he, a Malfoy, had reached out and caught me, a Weasley.  
  
* * *  
  
Why had I caught her? I could have just let her fall. It wasn't as if I would have been punished for letting her fall. No one could have proven that I didn't try to help her. But for some reason I would never be able to  
comprehend, I, a Malfoy, had reached out and caught her, a Weasley! And the worst of it was, I had felt. I didn't know what I had felt, but I had felt something. And it definitely was not good for a Malfoy to feel anything for a Weasley, unless it be hate. I would just have to forget about her like I had so many other girls. A Malfoy could not afford to have petty feelings for girls. Just think of other things. It was as simple as that.  
  
The part that I had read for at that callback earlier was very fun. I would have sold my mother's soul for a real chance at that part. But that woman, Professor Wilson, just didn't seem to appreciate my flawless accent. She was always complimenting that stupid Cliff git. I could still get the part. All I would really have to do was remind the woman who I was and what my father could do to her if he ever found out that she lacked appreciation for my  
artistic talents. All I had to do was find her.  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't believe that MY little sister is going to be the star of a real play. Just wait until mum and dad hear about this!" Ron shouted to Harry. That was one thing that I couldn't stand about my brother. When he was  
excited about something, he always shouted. How he had even found out about my audition was a complete mystery to me, but he had. And now I had to listen to him raving about it.  
  
"Actually, Ron, the show still hasn't been cast yet. I'm probably not even in it," I mumbled. Somehow this prompted Ron to become even more excited.  
  
"Are you KIDDING?! From the way that Cliff was talking about you last period, you could get every part! You could be the entire show! You-"  
  
"You know, Ron, it is very rude to shout with your mouth so full of food," Hermoine scolded. I could have hugged both of them. Cliff had been talking about me! And all that stood between me and seeing the cast list was Care of Magical Creatures! I barely even noticed Ron yelling at me to finish my lunch as I ran off toward my next class. 


	4. Anticipation

Musical comedy Murders of 1940 belongs to the playwright and the publisher, not me. I am not trying to claim it in any way.  
All the characters and locations in this fanfic belong to J.K. Rowling, except for a few minor characters that I have added to spruce it up!  
  
A Love to Die For  
Part 4  
  
I could hardly sit through a whole hour of Care of Magical Creatures. Or stand, as the case was. I couldn't even enjoy the unicorn that Hagrid had somehow obtained for his lesson for the next week. All I could think about was that cast list. Well, and Cliff. And those sparkling blue eyes, that perfectly angelic smile, his wonderfully bubbly laugh, that hair. I couldn¹t help but wonder if I had just dreamt him. He was so wonderful, and had stepped into my life out of nowhere.  
  
"Virginia," Hagrid called, shoving me out of my reverie rather abruptly. "Would you like to come help me show the rest of the class the feed a unicorn?" I nearly groaned as the Huflepuff girls all simultaneously squeaked jealously. I doubted that a single one of them had ever gotten over their childhood love of unicorns.  
  
As I walked up to the tall, thin creature with its shimmering white hair, Malfoy¹s face popped into my head. Why had he saved me? What had he been thinking? I was only Ginny Weasley. I was no one of any importance to anyone- except maybe Cliff. Or so I hoped.  
  
I took the bag of herbs from Hagrid. Surprisingly, they were all Muggle herbs. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme- as my father said. I fed them to the unicorn as Hagrid told me to. It licked them gently from my hand. I knew that I should have been at least a little bit afraid- even a unicorn can become violent- but it was so beautiful and warm. When it had finished the herbs in my hand, it nuzzled my cheek, clearly hoping for more. I wished I had more to give it. I reached out and stroked the end of its nose. It was so soft and warm, like nothing I had ever felt before.  
  
"Well, Virginia appears to have calmed him down enough for all you girls to come pet him, if you would like," Hagrid offered as a herd of girls sprinted for the animal. "One at a time, one at a time!" He shouted, in helpless attempt to soothe the crowd. I slipped out of the mob of girls unnoticed and stood back a safe distance from them. Excited teeneage girls could be just a dangerous as any wild creature.  
  
As I waited for class to end, I began toying with the idea of sneaking off to see if the list was up yet. Hagrid wouldn't notice my absence, now that all his attention was on the girls surrounding the unicorn. As I began to back away from the group, towards the school, I felt a hand close around my arm. I squeaked and jumped nearly three feet in the air. A warm, soft hand covered my mouth as I was pulled behind a nearby tree. As soon as the grip loosened, I whipped around a kicked hard at the person in front of me.  
  
"OW!" Cliff yelled, tumbling to the ground and grabbing his shin. "A fine thanks I get for sneaking you out of class to congratulate you!"  
  
"Well you could have told me it was you at least!" I shouted at him, my apology forgotten.  
  
"Would that have been before, or after you kicked me?" He shouted playfully, standing to brush himself off.  
  
"Wait, what was that about congratulating me? What would you congratulate me about?" I demanded of him.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure if I want to tell you now. You look so cute when you're angry," He teased, stepping closer. I could smell the cologne he was wearing. It smelled fresh and enchanting. I started to forget everything around me and think only about him. Then I remembered the reason I had wanted to leave class in the first place.  
  
"I have to go see the cast list!" I blurted, preparing to dash for the school. I was stopped by Cliff's hand catching mine.  
  
"That's what I came to congratulate you on, you playing Helsa," he said, smiling down at me. I stopped dead in my tracks, and looked up at him, expecting him to start laughing and tell me it was all just one big joke, or to wake up from this marvelous dream, but he didn't. The only thing left for me to do was squeal and hug him, which I did.  
  
"Please tell me you were cast as well! Please!" I begged of him. I would feel absolutely terrible if he hadn¹t been cast.  
  
"You are looking at Hogwarts newest Roger Hopewell," he declared proudly, grinning at me. I laughed and hugged him again and he picked me up and spun me around. Once he had put me down again, he stood there, just looking at me for nearly a minute. Then, just as I was about to tell him I should go back to my room, he took my hand a said "That's not all I wanted to talk to you about."  
  
***  
  
I spent more than half the night looking for that woman, and was nearly caught by Filch¹s stupid cat half a dozen times, but never did find her. I finally gave up around two and went back to the Slytherin common room. I never did go to sleep though. All I could think about was that every single moment that I had stumbled over a line or said the wrong thing. By the time I got to my first class I was entirely convinced that I had no chance at the part of Patrick O'Reilly.  
  
Then there was that stupid Weasley girl. Why had I rescued her? Why couldn¹t I get her out of my head? What was wrong with me? It was probably just the trauma of such a big change in my life. Once I got used to not doing Quidditch anymore, I would forget all about her.  
  
As my day continued, I sunk deeper and deeper into gloom. I tried everything to brighten my mood, but not even tormenting Pansy helped. By Potions, my final class that day, I nearly expected to fins a note next to the cast list telling me to never audition for a play again. I almost couldn't bring myself to go and look. But maybe it would make me feel better if I saw that that stupid Cliff hadn¹t made it either. 


End file.
